Monday, October 20, 2014

Back on the boat it felt a little damp and cold but the heating was soon on and the place warmed up. It felt strange in bed as I could feel the motion after being on dry land for nearly four weeks. Back to peace and quiet though with no roads or boats going past in the early hours.

In the morning the windows were running with condensation but the next morning it was drier. I had a mountain of washing so I headed for the laundry in the marina which made light work of it with the large machines and excellent driers. My drier in the washer drier on the boat is definately not as good although I do tend to use the low heat as it doesn't damage anything delicate.

Back to boat maintenance the blacking, repainted tunnel bands looked good but we needed to replace the back door padlock as we had great difficulty getting it open when we got back as we could get it to open and had to borrow a pliers to raise the pin and the key was a bit bent. As the fridge and freezer had been emptied as we wouldn't be on shoreline in the dry dock we had some shopping to do. We'd only brought something for tea when we came back.

Now last and not least Ben the dog fell in the marina in front of the bow, luckily he had his harness on and was attached to his lead so he was OK although he's heavy so my yells brought Eric to help pull him out. He wouldn't have fallen in if he'd not being trying to get at Whixie the dog on the boat opposite us and tried to cut the corner! The shivering dog was soon dried off and running down the boat playing ball. He needed a wash so his coat is all fluffy after his dip. He went to sleep near the fire.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The last few weeks have been busy to say the least and I didn't feel I wanted to blog about the problems we've been having in Newport with my dad at the time, so in a nutshell......he's been unwell and had a few bad falls involving hospital visits and a stitched hand. Add to that numerous doctor's, hearing aid and optician's appointments as well as mobility problems.Getting him in and out of the car has been a nightmare.He's decided to sell his house so it's now up for sale and an offer made on a nearby bungalow but he doesn't seem to realise it's not a quick process as he's lived in one house since he was three years old and is now eighty seven and has never been involved in the moving process..His ongoing health problems means he could do with some help but he refuses to have anyone in the house and without his consent nothing can be arranged. Even me who he calls his next of kin rather than his daughter gets shouted at if I try to help him in the house.

Clare and Ben had a lovely honey moon and Ben's made a new pal in Poppy the puppy who constantly gives his big licks. They even curl up together on a blanket on the sofa.She seems to have livened him up and they've enjoyed their morning walks together although we often get in a tangle of leads. I never thought I'd see the day when he'd share food and water bowls although there are two water bowls and two food bowls put down. They even play ball together although Poppy is much faster but lets Ben have it sometimes even though he'd rather just carry it in his mouth. We usually take two balls one for him to carry and one for Poppy to chase after. He's been good for her too as she now goes outside rather than leave a puddle in the kitchen. What we find strange though it that we can be out in a park and Ben waters anything vertical but Poppy doesn't do anything until she gets home to her back garden.

Back to the boat on Friday .....the spiders will have to vacate the premises. Bendy has had her bottom blacked and tunnel bands repainted so she should look a little smarter. I can't see the roof being tackled this year after all. Maestermyn have kept the boat keys for us in Oswestry as we forget to take the spare keys with us......how daft is that! Good job I rang them to tell them not to leave the keys inside when they put the padlock on the back doors.The bill awaits us too!

About Me

I retired from primary teaching in 2006 and am now living afloat with my husband Eric on our narrowboat called 'Bendigedig'. The name means wonderful. After many years afloat we are still enjoying life. For several years we wintered in Llangollen in north Wales and then spent seven months cruising mainly canals with occasional rivers. Then things changed as we felt we needed a home, somewhere to leave the boat when we needed to be in Newport. We now have a residential mooring at Whixall Marina which is lovely and quiet away from noisy roads and trains. We will use it as a base to cruise from when we get itchy feet in the Summer months. If we don't want to cruise it's great to have a home. We needed a car so we aren't totally cut off from the world, which also makes visiting our family so much easier. Ben the dog had a lovely life with us on the boat and he loved his long walks until his bout of meningitis caused by a parasite (neosporosis) slowed him down as it affected his sight and coordination. He enjoyed life with us on the boat but after a lovely life he is now in doggy heaven.